Leaving, chapter 3: The hunt for Ranma
by Kuraiko Kurohoshi
Summary: The chase is on! Who will find out what? (Ranma/Slayers)


Disclaimer : 

Ranma 1/2 is not mine. Slayers is not mine. 

Note : This is a Ranma/Slayers fusion, in the sense that the Slayers characters and magic system were incorporated in the Ranmaverse, and changed to better fit Modern Japan, with a different dynamic between the characters. C&C is greatly appreciated and can be sent to ranma_666@hotmail.com or ICQ# 45118495. Thank you. 

******* 

What happened before : 

Prologue : Ranma jumps off a cliff in front of everyone, and is thought dead. Akane finds out about Ryoga's curse. 

Chapter 1 : We find out how Ranma survived the fall. Akane sees Ranma and goes back to Nerima to get help. Everyone of the normal cast finds out too and goes. 

Chapter 2 : We see tidbits of the first week of Ranma's new life. Amongst other things, Lina sets Ranma up with a girl in their class who's interested in him, with the excuse of tutoring. 

******* 

" " spoken ' ' thought < > Chinese 

******* 

Leaving, chapter 3 

The Hunt for Ranma 

******* 

"Akane?" Lina blinked at the answer. Then her face lit up in understanding. "You mean Akane Tendo?" He nodded. "What's she doing here?" 

"Buying flowers." he deadpanned. She glared at him. "Sorry. How should I know? She probably wanted to visit my grave or something. She ate lunch here before going back." 

"The train station is the other way." Lina peeked into the street again. "Uh oh. She's talking to people... with a picture of you." She turned to look at him. "She knows you're alive." 

"No." Ranma shook his head, almost more to convince himself than her. "That's not possible. We staged my death too well. It may have been a bit out of character for me, but any doubts they'd have should have been squashed when that boulder hit the water over me." 

Lina was unconvinced. "Yeah, right. Then why the hell is she looking for you?" Ranma looked down and away. "Yeah, well, guess it's up to me to save your butt. I'll just have to cast a small illusion spell on her so she doesn't see what she's looking for." 

While Lina started her spell, Ranma wondered if it would actually work. Akane was extremely strong-willed when she wanted to, and he wasn't sure if Lina would win a battle of the minds against her. Then again, this was magic. 

After a bit of concentration, a small trail of white magical energy sped from Lina's fingers to Akane's head just as she was passing in front of the alley. Feeling something, the girl looked, but seeing nothing worth lingering for she went on her way. 

Ranma watched her retreating form for awhile, and spoke once she was at a safe distance. "You can stop now, she's far enough." Lina released the spell with a sigh, opening her eyes. "You know, I don't think she even noticed you." 

"You sure? Because that would mean she was looking for me, too." She glanced in Akane's direction. "But why would she be looking for me? We've never met." 

"Waterfall." Ranma said, groaning while covering his face with a hand. "We were at the waterfall this morning. She saw you, me, and how I survived the fall. The only thing that'd make this worse would be if she called home for help." 

"Don't be pessimistic. Maybe she wants to make sure you're really dead. We just have to make sure we're not spotted." She pointed to the stone wall at the end of the alley. "Let's go that way to stay away from your sweet, caring, loving fiancee." she said, smirking. 

Ranma shot a dark look to her beaming smile. He definitively wanted to get her back for that wise crack. But how? The only real way to get her was to catch her off guard. A lightbulb turned on. Of course! While he had shown her a few things, Lina didn't know the true extent of his acrobatic abilities. Mainly, the roof-hopping part. 

With lightning quick movements, Ranma bent to grab Lina, one arm by the waist and another under the knees, and he jumped over the wall separating the alley, doing three quick flips at the top of his thirty-foot high leap. 

In the middle of the first flip, Lina threw her arms tightly around his neck, burying her head on his shoulder while emitting a high-pitched scream, which didn't stop until they hit the ground. As soon as they stopped moving, she pulled her head back, ready to start a come back, when she noticed Ranma's deer- in-headlights look. She turned to look what in the street could catch his attention so. 

Right in front of the small alley, with the same wide-eyed look as Ranma, was a girl, obviously Chinese, with long purple hair in a short sleeveless red dress that hugged her figure quite nicely. Lina was quick to make the connection with Ranma's stories. 'Shampoo. Damn.' 

A thousand expletives were running through Ranma's head, some of which only Lina or his new father would have understood, but he managed to lower his comment to a simple, though crude, "Oh shit." 

The moment broken, Ranma immediately jumped to the rooftops, quickly followed by Shampoo who did a quick hop where Ranma had been standing before joining him in the skies. "Ranma, return to Shampoo!" 

"Like that's gonna happen." Ranma muttered under his breath, putting a little more force in his jumping. 

"We need to lose her," Lina began, looking over his shoulder, "but with you carrying me like that I don't think it's possible." Five seconds ago, she didn't think jumping from roof to roof was possible. At least it was less attention- getting than running in the streets -- or flying over them. 

Ranma, on the other hand, was perplexed. Shampoo was slowly, but surely, gaining ground on him, and he had no idea how to get rid of her. He couldn't stop and fight, because that would leave Lina vulnerable. She could take care of herself, but not in public, and not against a martial artist of Shampoo's caliber. There was too much chance she would be a target -- or even worse, a hostage. His special techniques were also out, either requiring close combat or potentially causing too much destruction. His other option, magic, was out of question, being in public. 

Wait. Maybe not. Hadn't Father said something about extreme situations and surreptitious magic? Spells that had no obvious visual effects, like the illusion spell Lina had cast? Well, he knew magic too. 

"I have an idea." Ranma said after a few rooftops. "Do you have your hidden dagger with you?" 

"Of course I d--" She didn't have to finish as Ranma's right hand slipped under her shirt. "Whatthehelldoyouthinkyou'redoing?!?" 

Ranma's hand came out, with her dagger. "Trying out a spell I saw in the book." He concentrated the mana necessary in the dagger while running across a roof, and when he jumped to the next one, turned around so he could throw the weapon. 

She almost had him. Another roof or two and she would be close enough to bring him down physically. But Shampoo was completely surprised when Ranma turned around in mid-jump and threw a dagger at her, muttering something she didn't understand. More surprising was by how much he missed, the weapon at a clearly lower angle than necessary. She knew he hadn't much experience with weapons, but she would expect Ranma to be better than that. 

She saw Ranma turn back around with a satisfied smirk just as the dagger hit the roof a few feet in front of her. Her forward momentum was suddenly lost as she seemingly hit a wall. It was as if some of her movements were restricted. She looked down. The dagger was embedded in her shadow. She tried a few movements. She was free as long as she kept the dagger in her shadow. Frustrated, she went to pull it free. 

Her hand pulled back almost immediately as a small electrical shock went through it. Biting her lip, Shampoo tried again, enduring the continuous current going all the way up to her shoulder, as she tugged at the dagger. The damned thing wouldn't come out. 

Shampoo let go, wondering how she could get the dagger out of her shadow. An idea struck her, and she took out her sword, using the reflective blade to illuminate the area where the dagger's blade entered the roof. She then moved away to free her shadow. 

Having recovered her liberty of movement, Shampoo looked about for her prey. Gone. She sighed of frustation, and out of anger to kicked the thing that prevented her from catching Ranma. The dagger freed itself easily from the roof and flew off to disappear in a small alley. Not one to pass a chance to acquire a magical weapon, Shampoo went after it. 

******* 

Lina saw Shampoo struggle with her favorite dagger right before they disappeared in another alley. As soon as they landed, Lina bonked Ranma with her left hand. "That was my favorite dagger, you jerk!" 

"I needed something to hold her back and I can't really use a *fireball*, now, can I?" he snapped back, putting her down. 

She blinked, anger forgotten, as her curiosity was piqued. "That was a spell? I don't remember seeing it in my spellbook, and Father said we had copies of the same book." 

"We do. It's just in some strange language towards the end. After a few nights of examining it, it started to make sense, and I learned that spell. I'll be glad to teach you someday, but right now we have other problems." He peaked into the adjacent street. "It's clear. Let's try to go home." To make sure she'd hurry, Ranma grabbed her hand. 

They hadn't done three steps in the street that a voice screamed from somewhere "There he is!" Ranma broke into a full sprint, not letting go of his sister. 

Lina tried to run with him, but she found herself in the air more often then not. "Would you slow down?!?" Ranma's response was a short pause in a step so he could spin her around and take her in his arms. Once she was safely holding onto his neck, he turned in a side alley before taking to the rooftops, making a beeline for the temple hill. 

"This isn't exactly discreet, you know." Lina remarked. She looked over his shoulder. "Case in point, there's a guy with Coke bottles for glasses in white robes, a girl -- or is that a guy? - in blue with a giant spatula, and a girl in a green one-piece with a ribbon pursuing us on the rooftops. Then there's the tomboy and the bokken-wielding maniac on the street. Quite a group." 

"Now you know why I left. Those damn people would never LEAVE ME ALONE!" He turned his head to the right to scream the last part to his pursuers as he jumped to the next rooftop. 

Amongst the many shouts of "Get back here!" and "Come back!", Ranma picked up the traditional cry of "Die, Saotome!" that preceded Mousse's attack. He lowered his left hand from Lina's waist to her hip to hold her while freeing his right hand, jumped and turned around just in time to catch the speeding chain inches from his sister's face. After a split second of concentration, Ranma sent a "Mono Volt!" down the chain to incapacitate his poor victim. 

He barely saw the beginning of the spell's effects before turning back around and continuing his sprint across the rooftops. "Darling Ranma! Wait for me!" 

After seeing Ranma's recklessness in magic use against his previous two victims, Lina didn't want to see what he'd do to that girl, especially over the rooftops of the small town on a bright and sunny day. "Hum, Ranma, I don't think you should be casting any more spells on these people." Lina blinked as the sun reflected from Ranma's hair, making it look a little lighter. 

"Like hell I'm gonna stop. Maybe it'll put some sense in their goddamned heads of theirs." Ranma started his chant as he began running across another rooftop. "Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand!" Ranma turned around and let go of the energy ball gathered in his right hand, shouting "Fireball!" 

Ukyo and Kodachi dropped flat, getting their behinds singed as the ball of fire spread to cover the entire area, just high enough for the two girls to be safe. 

Kuno started a speech after seeing Ranma's feat. "At last Saotome proves to be consorting in evil sorcery! I shall finally defeat him and--" 

"Dare Brando." Lina said, pointing to the kendoist, and feeling no small amount of satisfaction at seeing the idiot blow upwards. After years of listening to Amelia, Lina hated speeches, and always did what she could to stop them. Not to mention she was anxious to do something to help get rid of their pursuers. She didn't like being inactive, even if she wasn't in a good position to do something. "Are they all like that?" 

"No, the last one left is worse." Ranma peaked over his shoulder, seeing Akane in the lead. "And she tends to rally the others, too." Ranma muttered a few more curses as he tried to think of something to get rid of the reassembled group, now all running on the rooftops. And he was running out of roofs, too. There was only five or six houses left until the temple hill. Then he had an idea that just might work. 

On her end, Lina was getting nervous. They were running out of places to run, and they were getting deeper and deeper in trouble with each attempt to get rid of their pursuers. Not with the Nerima gang, mind you, but with their father. He was very strict, and even if it proved necessary to use magic so recklessly, they'd be punished. She shivered at the thought of the punishment. She hated scrubbing the temple floors. 

No, wait. That had been another kind of shiver. Like when a major spell was slowly being cast. She looked up at Ranma's face. He looked determined and had his gaze forward, but she had learned to see the concentration in his eyes. He was planning something. She could already see herself with a brush in one hand and a bucket in another. 

Right hand behind his back to accumulate the energy, Ranma ran the length of the last roof separating him from the hill, jumping as high as he could while turning around, throwing his arm forward as he released all the energy he'd accumulated in his last ditch spell, high enough to only afffect his pursuers. "Leave me alone! Bomb di Wind!!!" 

******* 

Akane had never seen anything like this. First Ranma had electrocuted Mousse, then had done a chi-blast that seemed more fire than chi, right at Kodachi and Ukyo, no less. Ranma never attacked girls. Then his oh-so-close girlfriend had pointed at Kuno and sent him sky-high, along with some of the road. 

Then she had had to join the others on the rooftops as the street ended. She had allowed herself a small smile as she had seen that Ranma was running out of places to run. He'd find himself on flat ground and they'd catch up to him even faster. A bad premonition had filled her when she'd seen the white ball of energy gathering in his hand, and with good reason. At the last rooftop, Ranma had turned around saying something that had been lost in the immense wind that had erupted from his hands. 

And now the entire pursuing group was being blasted away by an incredibly strong gust of wind, all the way to an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town. The old roof collapsed easily, but the three other floors separating them from ground level broke their fall quite nicely. 

Akane groaned as she sat up in the rubble, a hand to her head. "What the hell was that?" 

Ukyo rose, on all fours, pushing a big wooden board off her. "I think it was a variation of the Hiryu Shoten Ha." She hissed sharply as she touched a cut on her forehead. "I hate to say this, but if he's willing to attack us like that, he must really be attached to *her*." The word held as much spite as possible. 

"Don't make me think about it." Akane replied, getting up. She looked around at the other four prone bodies, that had more or less cushioned her fall. "Do we wait for them?" 

"And let them get to Ranma first? No way." Ukyo brushed herself off. "The agreement was cooperating to get Ranma, not to help each other. He should have been blown off in the mountain, let's go there." 

"Right." Akane ran with Ukyo out of the building. 

******* 

Lina groaned as she sat up. Casting a wind spell without proper footing was just plain stupid, and Ranma had just cast the mother of all air spells about fifty feet in the air. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was seeing the temple's small tool shed. 

She looked around. Even with the added skylight in the roof, it was still pretty dark. She raised a hand to cast a light spell but somebody did it before her. The hand went instead over her eyes to shield them. "Who's there?" 

"Who do you think?" Lina blinked a few times, but finally recognized the figure standing before her. The woman's traditional shinto robes clashed with her short, dark-blue hair, and her sharp, angular face seemed odd for a priestess-in-training. Still, Lina knew she had more than the character for the job. 

"Hey, Eris." She extended her hand. "Could you help me up?" 

"Sure." She pulled the redhead to her feet. "So what happened?" 

"Well, Ranma's friends decided to show up, and he had the bright idea of casting a Bomb di Wind to blow them off while we were fifty feet in the air." 

Eris burst in laughters. "I get the idea. So where is he, anyway?" She looked behind Lina. "I don't see him." Lina also looked, but Eris soon stopped, eyes cast downward. "Eh, Lina, why don't you step off your brother." 

"Uh?" Lina looked down. "Oops." She quickly got off Ranma's stomach. "Looks like he saved me from the brunt of it." She nudged him with her foot. "And I'll have to drag his sorry butt back home, too." 

"You might want to get his head out from under the tools and paint cans to check if he's breathing first." Eris added, pointing. 

"A little fall like this shouldn't hurt him too much." Lina grabbed Ranma's legs and pulled. His head came out in a metallic clatter. "He must have really hurt his head if he's still out." 

"Or depleted his mana. His hair is whiter than pure snow. Kinda looks good on him." Lina shot a look at her smile. 

"Could you just help me get him out of here? He may look cute, but he's not light." She took the arms while the priestess took the legs. They raised him up and took him out of the shed, and after ten feet Eris suddenly dropped him. "What gives?" 

"I just figured we could simply cast a levitation spell on him and just pull while he's in the air." Lina closed her eyes as she dropped Ranma as well. "Can't believe you didn't think of that, huh?" 

Lina opened her eyes as she cast the spell. "Levitation." she said simply, pointing at Ranma's prone form, and he rose two feet in the air, limbs still horizontal. She grabbed his left hand and began walking away. 

"Thanks for the help. If some people come asking about Ranma or me, tell them you don't know anything, okay?" Eris nodded. "I'll take the long road around the mountain to go home to avoid anyone. Don't forget to tell Zelgadiss, okay?" 

Eris pointed down the dirt trail. "Why don't you tell him yourself?" not thirty feet away was Zelgadiss' cloaked figure, the hood always over his head, hiding his face. 

Lina met him halfway. "Hey Zel." He replied the courtesy with a nod. "Ranma and I ran in some trouble in town, so if anyone asks about us you don't know anything, okay?" 

"Very well." With a wave, Lina walked away. He watched her disappear before walking up to Eris. "She seems rather... friendlier, when her new brother is concerned, does she not?" 

"Of course." Eris replied. "She's always wanted a brother or sister growing up, and now that she has one, she's acting like any good sister should when he's around." She paused as she thought of something. "It would be... unpleasant, should Ranma's old troubles take him away. This new Lina makes the Master's plans easier, since she would be inclined to stand with her brother." 

"And we all know where he stands." Zelgadiss finished, a smirk no one could see on his face. The conversation finished, Zelgadiss turned around, his cloak catching in the wind, and he walked back to the temple. With a shake of her head at his attitude, Eris followed, also smirking. 

******* 

"Akane? Ukyo?" The two running girls stopped and turned around, walking up to the two older women. "Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Nodoka's eyes lit up with hope. "Did you find Ranma?" 

The two fidgeted in place. "Well, yes, we found him, but he blew us off after we chased him for a few minutes." 

"He what? I find that very unlikely. Ranma isn't usually rude." 

Akane and Ukyo shared a look in the few seconds that followed. "Um, no, Auntie, I meant it litterally. We were chasing Ranma on the rooftops and he somehow summoned a huge wind to blow us away. We were near the mountain and we landed two blocks from the train station." 

"Child," Cologne interjected before Nodoka could, "could you be more specific as to how Ranma 'summoned' wind?" 

"We don't really know." Ukyo answered. "From what I saw, it was like Ranma was gathering white wind in his hand in the shape of a ball, and when it was big enough he turned around and let it go. The ball exploded in a big wind blast that blew us off." 

"Interesting." Cologne said, face deep in thought. "Tell me, were there any other happenings that would be described as... I would say strange, but since we are speaking about Ranma, let us say, different, from the usual?" 

"Well, he did a chi-blast that seemed more like fire, and his girlfriend pointed a finger at Kuno and the ground he was on exploded." 

"It wasn't chi, Akane," Ukyo added, turning around to show her blackened clothing and singed hair, "it was definitively fire. I could feel the heat on my skin." 

"I see." Cologne was perplexed. Ranma was controlling the elements, while his girlfriend blew things up from a distance? Things were not looking good. "Perhaps it would be wiser to try a less direct approach until we know the full extents of the capabilities of those involved. Where are Shampoo and Mousse?" 

"We, uh, lost sight of them in the wind. We don't know where they landed." 

"Really?" Cologne had an eyebrow raised. "We should find them before rushing after Ranma. There is safety in numbers, and if Ranma is no longer reticent to attack girls, we need all the help we can get. Show us to where you landed, child. Shampoo and Mousse should not be far." 

"Okay." The girls leading, the four headed back to the warehouse. 

******* 

*THUMP* 

Lina suddenly came to a stop as the weight she was pulling multiplied exponentially. She turned and looked at her fallen brother. "Couldn't you have waited one more minute? We're almost to the house." she chided the motionless body, hands on hips. With a sigh, she raised a hand to cast the spell again. 

And stopped as she heard three hard knocks on wood. Her curiosity piqued, Lina walked as silently as possible to the next turn in the trail, hiding behind a tree to look at the clearing where the house stood. A hundred feet away, at the door, stood a short brown-haired girl, waiting for an answer, looking all business and no play. 

After a few minutes of waiting and knocking again occasionally, the girl Lina recognized as Nabiki left. She was surprised the girl had been able to find where Ranma lived, but if Ranma's description was anything like the real girl, she shouldn't have expected anything less. 

Lina waited five minutes, to make sure Nabiki was away, before taking Ranma and dragging him to the house. She was fumbling to get out her keys when she heard someone clear her throat behind her. She jumped and turned around. Nabiki was standing there, arms crossed and right eyebrow raised. 

"I have to admit, you're a hard person to find." Nabiki began. "Those who knew you either didn't care to know much about you or were reticent to speak of you. Luckily, money tends to loosen mouths considerably." 

"It does that." Lina replied dryly. "What do you want?" 

Nabiki laughed softly with a mirth that didn't reach her eyes. "Straight and to the point, I see. Now I know what Ranma saw in you. Besides your good looks, of course." Lina glared. "Very well." Nabiki conceded, throwing her hands up. "I came here for him," she pointed, "but since he's not-- White hair?" Nabiki was caught completely off-guard by a detail she had taken for granted. 

"It's a temporary condition." Lina said through clenched teeth. Bits and details of Ranma's description of his dealings with the girl were running through her head, and she found it increasingly diffficult not to lash out at her. Had he been awake, Ranma would probably have complained about the strength Lina was holding his hand with right now. 

"Kinda looks good on him." Nabiki commented. "Anyways," she continued, taking her eyes off Ranma's hair, "as I was saying, since I can't talk to him, I'll talk to you." 

"There's nothing to talk about." Lina said with venom. "Ranma Saotome killed himself to get away from all the craziness you people forced on him by being petty and selfish. Now leave." 

"Dead? He may be unconscious, but he looks very much alive to me." Nabiki replied, pointing. 

Lina smirked. It wasn't friendly. "This isn't Ranma Saotome. His name is Ranma Inverse. Now leave before I make you." In her mind, she was focusing on things preventing her from simply blasting Nabiki away. Things like her father and the temple floors needing a good scrubbing. She hated that. 

"Ranma Inverse?" Nabiki repeated, eyebrow up, surprised. She tried to hide it by following it with a line of questions. "As in Lina Inverse? Daughter of the priest of this temple, living in this very house? Going to Niigi high school, homeroom 5-B? Soon to be voted 'Weirdest girl in class' by the student prom committee?" She let a calculating smile grow on her lips. 

Lina growled at that last remark. Ranma hadn't exaggerated her reputation by one iota, it seemed. And now the girl was threatening to repeat the information to the others. Which, considering what had happened earlier, would be disastrous. Well, Ranma may have problems with a war of words, but she certainly didn't. 

"You know a lot about me, but I also know a lot about you. I know you live in apartment #7 at 365 Takijawa street, two blocks from the Tokyo U. campus. I know that one out of two weekends, you visit your family at the Tendo Dojo, Nerima." She smirked. "And it may not be about you, but I also know that in an all-out fight, I can beat Ranma hands down, and I have no complexions about hitting girls or non-combatants." 

Nabiki grew uncomfortable, but she was used to such threats. "Do you really? Interesting. Still, it's not me you should worry about. There are other people involved in this, people much more dangerous." 

"True, but they remain harmless as long as they don't know where we are." Lina countered. "If you stay silent, I won't give you a visit once I've gotten rid of the others." 

"*If* you get rid of them." Nabiki countered. 

"I will." she replied confidently. "Ranma already did that barely an hour ago." She looked down at him. "He overdid it, but he was still weak from the fight we had this morning." She looked back at Nabiki. "And everything he can do, I can do better, so your friends shouldn't pose too much of a problem." 

"So let me repeat myself; you stay silent, and don't help the others, and you stay unharmed. If they show up here, I visit you." 

"That's hardly fair." Nabiki countered, trying to cut her losses. "They could find this place on their own. I can't be blamed for that. And why shouldn't I help my sister find her fiance?" 

"For your continued safety." Lina answered, but she knew where the girl was going. With just the threat hanging over her, Nabiki didn't feel particularly compelled to comply. And knowing her brother, Lina wouldn't quite be able to follow up on that threat. She needed to add another incentive for Nabiki to cooperate. Maybe appeal to her love of money. 

"But if you like making deals so much, here's two for you. One, you don't tell them anything you know about anyone here and you stay out of the hospital. Two, you don't help anyone finding us and you try your best to discourage them, and I'll pay you the debt Ranma had. How's that?" 

Now, Nabiki was interested. The deal sounded more like getting paid to stay silent than anything like a threat to her personal safety. That was what she had been aiming for at the beginning. "Fine. I'll do what I can to discourage them, and otherwise stay silent, and I get the money Ranma owed me." Lina nodded. "Then I'll just take my 83'700 yen and leave." 

Lina's eyebrows shot up. Ranma owed her that much?!? He didn't seem that naive. Then again, it might just be Nabiki's talent as a con artist. Ranma had told her she shamelessly extorted everyone, including her own family. Letting go of his hand, she rolled him over and took out his wallet under Nabiki's amused look. Which turned to surprise as she saw the number of bills in it. 

"10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 85. There." She handed the bills over. "Keep the change." Lina saw her look and smiled. "He would have blown most of it this afternoon anyway, so he shouldn't be too mad. Now leave and keep your mouth shut." 

"Pleasure doing business with you." Nabiki replied, counting the money as she walked away. She hadn't expected to walk away with so much money, nor with precious information, and so despite the threat to her life she could say the day wasn't a total loss. She put the money in her wallet and continued down the trail, humming a small tune. 

Lina waited until she couldn't hear the girl before re-casting her levitation spell on Ranma. She unlocked and opened the door, cursing her luck for having a brother with such a complicated past, and dropped Ranma on the couch. She then headed for the phone to cancel with her friends. The dilemma she was stuck with at the moment was wondering if not calling Amelia would make her more annoying later than actually calling her and running the risk of having her coming here. 

******* 

Ranma woke up screaming, sitting up suddenly, drenched in sweat, nightmare forgotten. Two hands on his shoulders pushed him back downed as a soothing voice filled his ears. "Calm down... Calm down... It was only a dream..." 

"More like a nightmare..." he replied, trying to relax his tensed body. He took a deep breath and let it out, opening his eyes. "Lina?" He looked at his surroundings. "What happened? How long was I out?" 

"About seven hours." Lina said with a small smile. 

"Seven hou... Man!" Ranma sat with a hand on his head. "I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt Akane found me and brought everyone from Nerima to chase us." 

"That wasn't a dream, Ranma. It actually happened this afternoon." She handed him a glass of water. 

"Thanks." He drank half of it in one shot, then sighed. "Then what did I dream about?" 

"We've got bigger problems than your dreams, though it is weird you'd have a nightmare when you're depleted of mana." She looked up, a wistful look on her face. "I remember the dreams I have when that happens to me. I'm under the lone tree up a hill, the sun is shining, and I feel so safe and warm and--" Ranma cleared his throat, and Lina recomposed herself. "Right. Guess who visited while you were out?" Ranma shrugged as he sipped his water. "Nabiki." 

He immediately started choking, hitting his chest with a fist to help himself breathe. He managed to swallow after a few seconds. "What?!? " 

"She must have asked around school at the few clubs still open. Anyway, she showed up here, and started threatening of revealing what she knew to the others." 

Ranma groaned. Everything had been going so well up to lunch. He was living in a good house, with a strict, no-nonsense father and a fun sister, had no enemies, had what could pass for a normal life, without a Jusenkyo curse, had the beginnings of a good relationship with a cute, smart girl... And now, he felt back in Nerima, where he didn't control anything and was the world's scapegoat. 

Lina threw a cheerful smile at him. "Don't worry, big brother, I took care of everything." Something in Ranma's eyes made her think he didn't believe her. "I made a deal with Nabiki that guarantees she won't tell anybody where we are. We can stay here until we can figure out how to get rid of your old gang, preferrably before Father gets back." 

"You trust Nabiki? And what kind of deal?" 

"Well, there's actually two parts to it. First, she doesn't tell what she knows about us and where we live and I don't visit her." Ranma seemed confused. "The address you mentioned *was* the right one, right?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I've been there often enough making errands and stuff. What's the other thing?" 

"Well, since you mentioned she was in love with money, I paid back the debt you owed her so she wouldn't help the others anymore." 

"You what? But I owed her over 70 thousand yen!" He stopped to consider this. "Well, it's probably a good thing, since she'll probably think of it as payment for her entire inaction and forget about the threat. But anybody just has to pay her more to get it out of her." He shook his head. "Still, I don't see how it could have gone better." He paused. "Where did you get the money?" he asked, glaring. 

"Well, you were going to spend most of it at arcade anyway, so I took the 85'000 yen out of your own money." She said the last bit while stepping away from her brother. 

Who was now walking towards her menacingly. "Please tell me just how I would have spent so much money in one afternoon?" 

"Well, you would have been paying for yourself and Mei, and most probably would have been annoyed until you also paid for Amelia. There would also have been snacks, and you know how much you and Amelia eat. You would have blown a lot of money." 

"That still wouldn't have made 85'000 yen! I was saving that money!" he snapped back, but quickly relented. He thought about it. "Well, it mostly cuts into what was left of the money I had to buy clothes and stuff, and it's a good thing Father is generous with our allowance." He pointed menacingly at her. "But next time we go out, you're buying." Lina was all but nodding. 

"And At least it should give us some peace until tomorrow." He groaned as he sat down. "Oh god, tomorrow. I'm supposed to study with Mei tomorrow. I can't run the risk of all those crazy people going after me in front of her." 

"Yeah, well, I guess you'll have to cancel." 

"I can't afford to cancel. There's a rumor Sutaro-sensei is gonna give a pop quiz Monday, and we haven't gone over the current chapter yet. And it doesn't matter, anyway, since she's going to the shrine in the afternoon. She'll still be nearby." He fell back on the couch. "Oh god..." 

"Don't despair, big brother. We'll get through this. After all," she said brightly, "there's nothing you and I can't handle!" He gave her a dubious look. "You just have to believe in yourself, Ranma. Besides, I'm sure Nabiki won't betray us. I made it quite clear what I'd do to her if she crossed us." 

"Yeah, I guess." Ranma sighed. 

Lina pulled him up by the hands. "Now come on. You need to relax and take your mind off your problems." He raised an eyebrow as he let himself be led upstairs. "And I've got just the thing." 

"And what might that be? A warm bath?" 

"Nope." she answered cheerfully. "Homework." She didn't let Ranma's facefault slow her down. 

******* 

Nabiki calmly entered the hotel room, trying not to disturb anyone. Kuno had been kind enough to provide for them so they could stay in town, but there had been only one room left, so all the girls were stuck sharing. 

"Nabiki?" Drowsily, Akane sat on the couch and turned a lamp on, rubbing one eye. "Where have you been? It's almost midnight." 

"Oh, I just treated myself to dinner and a movie. This town is so small I managed to see something that came out yesterday without playing a sardine." 

"You... treated yourself?" Akane repeated, thinking. Nabiki rarely spent money in that way. "That means you made money. But the only way for you to make money here is..." Akane abruptly got up, one accusatory finger pointed at her sister. "You saw Ranma!" 

The statement echoed in the otherwise silent suite, waking everyone. Nodoka was the first to gather her wits. "Nabiki? Akane? What's going on? Where have you been?" she asked, getting out of another room. 

"She saw Ranma!" Akane repeated, this time drawing gasps from the others. "She saw Ranma and had him pay her to stay silent about it! She's on his side!" 

Nodoka managed to shush the other girls. "Nabiki? Is that true? Did you really see my son?" Her voice was hopeful. 

Nabiki didn't like the stares directed at her. She had been willing to help them in any way she could, at the proper price, of course, but now she didn't particularly feel helpful. But most of all, she felt tired. 

"I did see someone named Ranma today, but his last name wasn't Saotome." She started going across the room. "Now, if you'll just tell me where my bed is, I'm really tired and I'd like to get some sleep." 

Her path was barred by a giant spatula. "You're not getting off that easy, sugar. I don't care what the price is, just tell us what you know about Ranma." 

'A blank check... Hmm... Maybe I can spare the energy to talk to them right now.' She smiled and backtracked to the couch, which she unceremoniously flopped on. "Okay. Here's what I can tell you." she began, slight emphasis on the 'can' she hoped nobody would notice. 

"Ranma Saotome is dead. The man you spent chasing this afternoon, as I was told, has the same last name as the girl that was with him. Apparently, that girl is even stronger than Ranma, and managed to get him to actually attack her openly. From what I gathered from the girl, Ranma is totally different from the boy we knew, and is hell bent on never coming back with us. That's what I have so far." 

The others considered silently the information, but Cologne wasn't so easily fooled. "Child, if you know Ranma has the same last name as that Lina girl, then you must know their family name. What is it?" 

She smiled weakly. "I can't tell you. I have a deal with her, and it's not only about money. If I help you find them, once she gets rid of you, she's coming after me." Nabiki hadn't thought the threat would turn out to be useful. It at least prevented the girls from pressuring her. 

"Redhead witch no can get rid of Shampoo easily. We protect you. Now tell." Her statement was followed with agreements from everyone else. 

"It's not that simple. From what I was told, when Ranma got rid of you all this afternoon, he was still weak from the practice he and her had this morning. And I'm pretty sure she was telling the truth when she said she was better than Ranma. I'd rather not risk it." 

"Ranma was weak this afternoon? That's impossible, he was running at top speed with that girl in his arms, throwing all of those attacks. That can't be weak." 

Nabiki got up. "What can I tell you? She seemed straightforward when she spoke to me, and that's what she said. If I were you, I'd use caution. Now, where's my bed?" Nodoka pointed her in the right direction, and without another word she left the room. 

"So... what do we do now? If this afternoon was a weak Ranma, and that girl is stronger..." 

"Then the plan is changed." Cologne finished. "We can not afford a direct confrontation, even if Lina was exaggerating. Tomorrow, we will still look for Ranma, but only observe him, not confront him. We shall also do the same for this Lina girl. We must consider this new Ranma an enemy for the moment, a very dangerous enemy, and learn his strengths and weaknesses until the appropriate time to strike comes. That time may not be tomorrow, however, so I suggest patience to all of you. Going against something we have no knowledge of can only guarantee defeat. But for now, let us sleep." 

Everyone agreed, nodding, and separated to return to their beds. 

Akane turned off the lamp and laid on the couch, twisting herself in the blanket. 'Ranma... why did you leave me?' 

On the other couch, Ukyo was laying on her back, staring at the dark ceiling. 'Whatever she did to you, Ranchan, she'll pay for it, I promise.' 

In the small bedroom, Shampoo was hugging her pillow to death. '' 

Beside her, Cologne was thinking about more than getting Ranma back. '' 

In the other bedroom, Nodoka was no longer able to sleep. 'My son... Why? Did the fear of seppuku drive you away? Was I not a good mother?... Was staying with her the price for your cure? Did I... Did I push my son away? Am I responsible for this?' 

Next to her, Nabiki was falling asleep with a contented smile. She was the only one who had given some thought about Ranma and Lina having the same last names, and had reached the obvious conclusion; they were married. 

******* 

End Chapter 3 

******* 


End file.
